Greetings and salutations once again from Steinbach, Manitoba!
As our first month back is flying by, things are really moving along for our team. We had our first host home switch of the second half and us women of iNFUSE two have come to realize the impact of the game "Dutch Blitz" on our host homes. Almost every host home we have stayed with has joined us in this game and it has been great for our relational ministry.
We also had our first leadership training workshop for some of our volunteers. Being able to tell the leaders exactly what our plans are for youth ministry in this parish was refreshing and really helped us to re-visualize why we are doing what we are doing and how exactly we are going to do it. It also helped our leaders feel a bit more empowered about evangelizing and getting involved in this wonderful ministry.
Coming from BC I have never had to experience not having a priest for Mass due to t
he weather, but here in Manitoba it is a normal occurrence during the winter. Due to this fact our second youth Mass was converted into a Praise and Worship session followed by the Sunday readings and a reflection. We had quite a few people come out despite the weather. One woman I spoke with who wasn’t sure about whether or not she should be coming out to the youth Mass (she joked that maybe she was too old), but told me after that she loved what we did and she wants to keep coming back for the youth Mass.
Thankfully the weather improved enough for our team to go into Winnipeg for our team day on Tuesday. Ea
ch of us was able to obtain a pair of skates, either from parishioners or the local sports store. And although we are all at varying levels of skating ability and varying levels of affection for ice, we had a ton of fun and were able to enjoy the beautiful day on the ice. Phylicia, Amanda and I were also able to spend a bit of time at a lovely place called Baked Expectations. A number of people had recommended that we visit there for one of our women’s sessions and it definitely met, if not exceeded, our “expectations”. Brownies, cheesecake and hot drinks made our winter day in Winnipeg perfect.
One of my passions in life is books - especially books that are inspiring, insightful, and that lead people into a better understanding of their faith. Because of this I am so excited about a book fundraiser we are doing here in our parish to support the youth ministry program. We were able to obtain 250 copies of Matthew Kelly’s “Rediscover Catholicism” book which we are selling for a steal at $5 each. I have heard so many good things about this book and cannot wait to get feedback from the parishioners who have bought it so far. As a team, we think that this book will be incredibly helpful in getting people fired up about being Catholic and about the Church in general.
Our high school retreat, “Open the Door” was a great success with 11 teens and 3 adult volunteers coming out to learn more about how we can open the door of our hearts to Christ and to finally throw away the keys to that door so that Christ can come with us into the rest of our lives. Prayer ministry was especially incredible! Seeing all those teens praying in the church was beautiful.
REACT this past weekend, entitled “Propaganda”, saw grade 6, 7 and 8 teens looking at the effects of the media in our everyday lives and how we can choose what to listen to, watch and believe. And next weekend is the start of our high school youth group, “Lifeline”. I know that this is one of the ministries I have been waiting for…keep it in your prayers!
God bless! And see you next week.
Signing off. Elizabeth Fitzmaurice
As our first month back is flying by, things are really moving along for our team. We had our first host home switch of the second half and us women of iNFUSE two have come to realize the impact of the game "Dutch Blitz" on our host homes. Almost every host home we have stayed with has joined us in this game and it has been great for our relational ministry.
We also had our first leadership training workshop for some of our volunteers. Being able to tell the leaders exactly what our plans are for youth ministry in this parish was refreshing and really helped us to re-visualize why we are doing what we are doing and how exactly we are going to do it. It also helped our leaders feel a bit more empowered about evangelizing and getting involved in this wonderful ministry.
Coming from BC I have never had to experience not having a priest for Mass due to t
he weather, but here in Manitoba it is a normal occurrence during the winter. Due to this fact our second youth Mass was converted into a Praise and Worship session followed by the Sunday readings and a reflection. We had quite a few people come out despite the weather. One woman I spoke with who wasn’t sure about whether or not she should be coming out to the youth Mass (she joked that maybe she was too old), but told me after that she loved what we did and she wants to keep coming back for the youth Mass.Thankfully the weather improved enough for our team to go into Winnipeg for our team day on Tuesday. Ea
ch of us was able to obtain a pair of skates, either from parishioners or the local sports store. And although we are all at varying levels of skating ability and varying levels of affection for ice, we had a ton of fun and were able to enjoy the beautiful day on the ice. Phylicia, Amanda and I were also able to spend a bit of time at a lovely place called Baked Expectations. A number of people had recommended that we visit there for one of our women’s sessions and it definitely met, if not exceeded, our “expectations”. Brownies, cheesecake and hot drinks made our winter day in Winnipeg perfect.
One of my passions in life is books - especially books that are inspiring, insightful, and that lead people into a better understanding of their faith. Because of this I am so excited about a book fundraiser we are doing here in our parish to support the youth ministry program. We were able to obtain 250 copies of Matthew Kelly’s “Rediscover Catholicism” book which we are selling for a steal at $5 each. I have heard so many good things about this book and cannot wait to get feedback from the parishioners who have bought it so far. As a team, we think that this book will be incredibly helpful in getting people fired up about being Catholic and about the Church in general.
Our high school retreat, “Open the Door” was a great success with 11 teens and 3 adult volunteers coming out to learn more about how we can open the door of our hearts to Christ and to finally throw away the keys to that door so that Christ can come with us into the rest of our lives. Prayer ministry was especially incredible! Seeing all those teens praying in the church was beautiful.
REACT this past weekend, entitled “Propaganda”, saw grade 6, 7 and 8 teens looking at the effects of the media in our everyday lives and how we can choose what to listen to, watch and believe. And next weekend is the start of our high school youth group, “Lifeline”. I know that this is one of the ministries I have been waiting for…keep it in your prayers!
God bless! And see you next week.
Signing off. Elizabeth Fitzmaurice
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